12/17/2009
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Company: King Engine Bearings
www.kingbearings.com
New Trimetal Race Bearings
New King "Gold Performance" Bearings use advanced technology to solve race engine problems.
KING Engine Bearings, Inc. has introduced its new Gold Performance Engine Bearings – a new leap forward in race engine bearings over its previous bearing designs. Specifically, these new bearings feature vastly improved fatigue strength that allows it to tolerate pressures far greater than some other performance bearings available today.
The new main and connecting rod bearings from KING feature a new and unique trimetal construction, including a proprietary particulate metal matrix composite non-Babbitt overlay with new properties. While appearing in a typical gray/silver color out of the box, KING Gold Performance bearings polish to a golden luster after a short period of use while maintaining their original tolerances and bearing clearances.
“Gold Performance bearings are intended for those racing applications
in which traditional high performance trimetal bearings experience
overlay fatigue and failure, due to extreme loading for extended
periods of time,” explains Michael James, spokesman for KING Engine
Bearings. “They are for use with forged steel crankshafts only, and
are not suitable for use with cast iron cranks.”
“We expect Gold Performance bearings to solve many engine bearing
problems in circle track competition, off-road and offshore marine
racing, and some classes in drag racing,” he adds. Problems Gold
Performance can solve include surface fretting, cracking, flaking,
cratering, overlay migration or extrusion, crankshaft damage and
temperature-related failures.
The .0005˝ overlay is able to handle loads up to 18,000 psi, far beyond the capacity of any other performance engine bearing, says the company, also stating that the bearing's maximum working temperature is 540 deg. F., which is 50 percent higher than other trimetal race engine bearings. These properties and others allow KING Gold Performance bearings to operate under the most demanding load and temperature conditions in racing.
The other two layers in the new Gold Performance bearings include a high strength steel backing and a .015˝ copper-lead intermediate layer, surface-diffused with a hardening element for improved fatigue strength. Gold Performance joins KING’s existing family of race/street engine bearings including Pro Series and Xtreme Performance bearings.
KING experts also reveal that championship circle track engine builder Ron Shaver has run tests on the new bearings and heartily endorses them. “In a week-long dyno testing session, KING Gold bearings showed no signs of fatigue, even when run in a narrowed configuration,” Shaver reports.
For more information on Gold Performance engine bearings, contact KING Engine Bearings, Inc., 371 Little Falls Rd, Suite 5, Cedar Grove, NJ 07009. Phone: 800 722-3670 or inquiry@kingbearings.com.